Tuesday, October 20, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

Arguably, Shohei Ohtani is the most important player on the Los Angeles Dodgers. He may be the most important player in MLB.

After the All-Star break, he was a shadow of himself, which hurt the team. Although he hit a critical three-run homer in Game 4 in the NLCS, his lack of offensive production hurt the Dodgers’ chances of three-peating.

Ohtani is adamant that he will pitch in 2027, but the Dodgers need his offensive production more than his superb pitching. He loves pitching, and if he concentrated on pitching only, he could be the best pitcher in MLB, probably earning multiple Cy Young Awards.

Although Ohtani is a great right-handed starter, he is a phenomenal left-handed power hitter, a rarity in the game. He takes pride in being baseball’s only two-way player. He can do it when he is healthy. The Dodgers and he must figure out how to keep him healthy. Since he is the only two-way player, this is uncharted territory, and I don’t accept it because he is 32, he can’t be a two-way player.

Okay, Ohtani got hurt.

Oh my, the precious Ohtani got hurt. Come on, folks. Baseball players get hurt. Sometimes, as a Dodger writer, I feel like I’m a doctor because I’m always waiting for results from imaging, and I must explain the results.

In June, Ohtani’s body began to betray him. It happens. Should the Dodgers have put him on the IL then?

Perhaps.

But baseball players perform hurt all the time. The game is hard and doesn’t stop for anything. Playing 162 games plus spring training and postseason, if the team is lucky, is difficult. The Dodgers aren’t paying him $70 million a year to sit on the bench and rest.

Did Ohtani’s performance after the All-Star break hurt the Dodgers?

Maybe. But he wanted to play. His job is to play, and in his culture, people do their job without complaint.

Is Ohtani selfish?

Maybe, but you don’t get good at something unless you prioritize yourself. Everyone agrees that Ohtani is the best player who has ever played.

Ohtani had a good year for any other player not named Ohtani. He started 14 games with an 8-2 record and a 1.74 ERA. This performance is hard to replace, but the Dodgers can if they want to. However, Ohtani’s love is pitching. I would begin his pitching season after the All-Star break, but June would be his spring training.

Ohtani’s pitching was better than at any time in the major leagues, but limited; his offensive production, however, fell short of his standard. Sorry, Ohtani, you aren’t winning your third straight National League MVP. That goes to Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs. Nevertheless, Ohtani had a good 2026 season offensively with a .275 batting average, 30 home runs, 81 RBI, and a .889 OPS in 135 games. He was a shell of himself during the NLDS and NLCS.

This offseason, Ohtani must get healthy and rediscover his batting stance. The Dodgers still can build their team around him, but they need to develop a strategy for keeping him fresh and healthy during the marathon.